Reader feedback 2.2.05

BUYING THE NEWS

Barely a few weeks after your eye-opening
article on the genesis of fascism ("Fascism in America?"
December 8), we learn that this administration has misappropriated taxpayer
funds to pay journalists to shill for it, and to create three (count them: 3)
phony "news" videos designed to bamboozle Americans, one of which was
actually picked up and aired as authentic "news" by more than 40 TV
stations.

If this had
happened under Bill Clinton's administration, the media would have been quick
to plaster its outrage all over the front pages, Congress would be racing to
begin investigations, and Bill Bennett would be frothing at the mouth about
what constitutes a lie. But for this administration?
The silence is deafening.

The
greatest threat to our democracy is assent through silence.

Georgianne Arnold, Avalon Drive, Brighton

GONZALES OUTRAGE

Thank you for "Stop the Steamroller. Reject
Gonzales" (January 12), on why the Senate should not confirm Alberto
Gonzales as US Attorney General. To anyone who believes in the
protection of human rights and in the treaties and conventions obligating our
government to treat prisoners humanely, Gonzales' confirmation would be an
outrage.

I listened to much of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings and
found Gonzales to have contempt for the human-rights standards that such
organizations as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights
Watch have worked for. That someone so ignorant and disdainful of human rights
could become Attorney General is an alarming indication of the moral abyss Bush
and his cronies are dragging us into.

The Senate
Republicans apparently don't give a damn about or don't see the horrible
precedent they will be setting by confirming him. His beliefs have played a key
role in the horrible abuses of US-held prisoners at Abu Ghraib,
at Guantanamo,
and in Afghanistan.

Chris Dygert, Rosedale Street, Rochester

FITNESS, DOWNTOWN

Regarding "RAC and You" (Metro Ink, January 19): I was a
member of the Rochester Athletic Club downtown and am now a member of The
Downtown Fitness club. I felt that the RAC was more like a retail corporation
gym, a gym that wasn't welcoming. I would encourage all of you who have not
tried the Downtown Fitness Club to give it a try. Yes, the building may be 100
years old, but it's a very safe, clean building. The club offers more than just
aerobics and weight training; it also offers a 9-foot-deep pool, a whirlpool,
sauna, tanning, personal training, and massage therapy.

But one of
the other reasons I chose DFC was because it has a welcoming atmosphere. There
is an attitude of 'We care about your health needs,' and the staff at DFC is
great.

Mike Hendricks, Pearwood Road, Gates

NO LIMITS!

Mike Doser makes a compelling
argument about society's bias against women's sporting events ("Women," January
19). However, I fail to recognize how prohibiting men's sporting teams from
having more spectators than women's would help. As Doser
indicates, in college as well as professional sports, by and large the general
public prefers to watch men's sporting events. But I doubt sexism and
discrimination are the issue.

The caliber
of play exhibited by the men's Syracuse
basketball team is much higher than that of the DukeUniversity women's basketball team.
The players jump higher, run faster, and are significantly stronger than
women's teams. These reasons alone make for a much more exciting game to watch.
This is why there is a women's league. Most women basketball players do not
possess the strength and agility of most men players due to their physiological
makeup.

I am not
suggesting that women should settle for mediocrity. Perhaps a more aggressive
marketing campaign would boost the popularity of women's athletics. No headway
is made in increasing popularity in women's athletics, however, by telling
people they can not show up at a men's sporting event simply because they
prefer not to watch women's sports.

BETTER REMEDIES

Regarding Mike Doser's
article on women's professional sports ("Women," January 19): First, the
Women's National Basketball Association is not the only women's professional
sports league. The former four-team Women's Professional Softball
League, after earlier suspending operations, has now reinvented itself and
emerged as the six-team National Pro Fastpitch last
year and is adding a seventh team this year.

Also, while
the former wintertime American Basketball League folded a few years ago, the
new six-team National Women's Basketball League started and has been
successful, largely because it and its major-league counterpart, the WNBA,
allow athletes to play in both leagues, whereas the WNBA and the former ABL did
not.

The Women's
United Soccer Association is on suspension and is trying to make a comeback in
2006, with Rochester slated to have
a franchise at PaetechPark. Canada
has the National Women's Hockey League, which would like to expand into the US.

Keep in
mind, too, the semiprofessional women's leagues in soccer and football, some of
which have teams in Rochester.

Much of the
downturn in women's pro sports was due to the downturn in the US
economy, which did not affect the more established and better-patronized men's
sports. In addition, our women have to compete for spectators
and sponsors against more men's leagues than do the women's leagues
overseas.

The WNBA
and the NPF have partnerships with the men's NBA and MLB that could help them.
The WUSA's biggest mistake was that they did not have
this with the MLS. Other problems were overspending and having teams in large
markets, some of which were not hotbeds for the sport, as Rochester
is.

It would be
nice to have professional women's volleyball again. However, this is a
difficult sport to professionalize, especially since it is female-dominated
with little or no chance of the same sport in a male league for support.

Title IX
does need to be strengthened, but not the way Mr. Doser
is suggesting. Instead, the Women's Sports Foundation has ways to strengthen
it. However, the law must not be weakened. Despite his having two daughters and
no sons, George W. Bush and his appointees are no friends of Title IX. As for
sex appeal, it should be used in moderation without compromising family values;
Brandi Chastain and the WNBA's Lauren Jackson may not
have been setting good examples.

Maggie
Brooks declared our area a women's sports hotbed. As such, I would like to see
NWBL, NWHL, and NPF teams here and maybe in Buffalo
as well.

Kevin F. Yost, Middle Road, Henrietta

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